The Fundani - Student Learning Unit (SLU) key responsibilities are to provide academic support to students at CPUT The unit provides the following support programmes:
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Academic Literacy (AL) support to students who need to submit assignments, reports and essays to lecturers in faculties. Tutor training is provided to senior undergraduate students. This empowers them to provide tutorials to first year and undergraduate students. Teaching Assistant training is offered to Advance Diploma, Masters and Doctoral students. They assist lecturers in faculties by coordinating the tutorial programmes, developing materials and providing general academic support to lecturers in Faculties. Teaching Assistant (TA) Programme assists in the whole planning cycle and the management/ preparation of teaching and learning. The STEM support lecture provides academic support through individual, group consultations and self-study activities. Team teaching between the STEM support lecturer and lecturers in faculties take place regularly.
Services offered • • • • • •
Academic writing support Essays and reports Question and topic analysis Use of internet research Paragraph development Synthesise authors information without plagiarising
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Harvard referencing Study skills Listening and notetaking skills Test and examination preperation
Where to find us Bellville Room 1.04 IT Building
+27 21 959 6040 collinsj@cput.ac.za
District Six
Lab 2, Ground Floor E-Learning Centre +27 21 460 3610 mboxelas@cput.ac.za
For all Student Learning Unit services (one-on-one and group consultations), students have to book an appointment 24 hours in advance. We facilitate generic workshops throughout the year on various topics. Lecturers and students can request workshops on specific topics/
Fundani Student Learning Unit
FUNDANI CHED
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To facilitate socio-academic development to undergraduate students
PEER TUTOR DEVELOPMENT IS AN INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY THAT CONSISTS OF STUDENT PARTNERSHIPS
Peer Tutor Development Teaching Assistant Programme Academic Literacies Development
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Peer tutors provide assistance to students within and across disciplines through academic support Peer tutoring offers an opportunity for students to teach and learn from each other Students are able to seek academic support from a similar age peer,
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THE TEACHING ASSISTANT (TA) PROGRAMME • • •
Facilitates the professional development of teaching assistants at a discipline-specific level Teaching Assistants assists and support a lecturer/ senior lecturer/head of programme/head of department Teaching Assistant works under the guidance of a lecturer/ senior
How do we develop students academically and holistically? STRATEGIC LITERACIES • • • • •
Managing time effectively Developing effective study skills Decoding the topic Integration or e synthesis of authors’ ideas into one’s argument (including referencing) Understanding and application of knowledge
ACADEMIC LITERACIES • • •
STEM Support
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Mediating primary discourse (home) and secondary discourse (school/ university) Dialogic feedback on students’ writing Empower students to engage critically with genres and content knowledge
THIS PROGRAMME PERFORMS THE FOLLOWING FUNCTIONS OR DUTIES • • • • •
Supporting student learning in STEM Developing appropriate teaching and learning materials to enhance student learning Developing computer-based STEM learning material Undertaking research on STEM teaching Performing administrative functions
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which is often less threatening to the learners’ esteem than seeking help from an authority figure Peer tutors assist with difficult or problem areas that were not understood in the formal teaching environment, engaging students actively in the process of learning The process assists in the development of independent learning strategies and behaviour.
lecturer/head of programme/head of department to assist and support the lecturer to implement programmes and classes for that could include those requiring detailed and specialist knowledge in particular areas Teaching Assistant assists in the whole planning cycle and the management/ preparation of teaching and learning.
Capacitating students with research writing skills (i.e. proposal writing and argumentation) Enhancing students’ ability to develop proper paragraphs.
TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES • • • •
Facilitating academic literacies interventions in the faculties Facilitating workshops on “reading in the disciplines” for students and lecturers Engaging teaching and learning coordinators and curriculum officers Engaging “new” lecturers through the Teacher Development Programme (TDP).
PROVIDE SUPPORT TO UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS • • • •
Consultations (one-on-one and group) and Workshops 10 week academic literacy programme Subject specific programmes Research.
STEM support assists students with study skills in the learning of mathematics & science. This encompasses: • Individual consultation: the student brings a problem on a specific topic, then a consultant assists them within an hour • Group consultation: students are also allowed to bring their problems in groups. In this case, a workshop is scheduled and then conducted • Self-study activities are designed to allow students to work on their own • Team teaching: the STEM consultant works in collaboration with faculty STEM lecturers to find conceptual problem areas and provide solutions.